INSIDE TRACK | MORNING BRIEFING

Now, if Notes Were on the Irish He'd Be Impressed

Guy Benjamin, a former Stanford quarterback, who is now the offensive coordinator at the University of Hawaii, calls it the "Grail."

Another Hawaii assistant, former Stanford wide receiver Ken Margerum, has kept it for 19 years. It's a notebook of Bill Walsh's original diagrams and writings of what is now known as the West Coast offense.

Unimpressed is defensive coordinator Don Lindsey, who once held that position at USC. "You couldn't pay me to read it," Lindsey told the the Honolulu Advertiser. "Besides what's the big deal about Bill Walsh? I'm 4-0 against the man."

Trivia time: Who was the first Los Angeles Dodger to be named the most valuable player in the World Series?

The mystic: Bill Walton on the impact new Laker Shaquille O'Neal will have on Los Angeles:

"Shaq has returned hope to Southern California after a rough period. The death of hope in one's life may be the most difficult obstacle to overcome, and I see Shaq bringing it back in a big way on the sports scene."

Gee, I didn't know things were so bad here.

Scoring a point: Dallas Cowboy wide receiver-cornerback Deion Sanders in Sport magazine on how he is perceived: "I think because people associate me with this Hollywood-type image, they think I'm not working too hard.

"Because you make it look easy, people think, 'Hell, I could do that.' If it was so easy, how come more people aren't doing it?"

Corn-trashing: Bernie Lincicome in the Chicago Tribune: "Q. Nebraska could become the first team in modern times to win three college championships in a row. What exactly are modern times? A. Five-to-10, reduced to six months for good behavior."

Clip and save: Anthony Mason had this message for the New York Knicks, who traded him to the Charlotte Hornets for Larry Johnson: "You've been had. Defense wins in sports."

No clue: Portland Trail Blazer draft pick Jermaine O'Neal, 17, when asked if he understands what playing at the NBA level is like: "I think I do, but I probably don't."

Looking back: On this day in 1976, Terry Donahue made his head coaching debut at UCLA, the Bruins upsetting Arizona State, 28-10, in Tempe, Ariz.

Trivia answer: Larry Sherry in 1959.

And finally: Former major leaguer John Kruk, who plays the role of a player in the movie, "The Fan," recalled a conversation with director Tony Scott about baseball.

"He asked me one day, 'What do you guys do at halftime?' That's when I knew it was going to be one long damn movie."